A Best Friend's Duty
by DjinnFlint
Summary: AU: An old evil resurfaces, and strikes at the heart of a hero. Garet follows Isaac on his doomed quest, for what else is a best friend to do?


So this is my very first Golden Sun fan fiction. I hope you like it!

Feel free to review, but no pressure!

* * *

When Isaac awoke, everything was dark. Propping himself up, on his elbows, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before getting up. The ground beneath him was moist with the settling dew, and owls could be heard gently hooting through the trees. At any other time, Isaac would have spent more time to admire the stillness and tranquillity of his current location, but he had other things on his mind.

He walked over to another sleeping figure, and kicked him gently to wake him up.

"In a minute mom, I'll be up in a minute…" mumbled his best friend. On another day, this would have made Isaac chuckle, but not today. Instead he kicked harder, before walking off into the forest.

"Ow!" exclaimed Garet. "What in Sol was that for? I said I'd be up in a minute!" Garet barely had time to gather his belongings and hurry after Isaac before he lost him completely. Garet knew why Isaac was keen to move on, but he didn't understand why he had changed so. Actually this wasn't strictly true. Garet knew, he just didn't understand why Isaac hadn't bounced back, like he normally did. Ever since they were children, Isaac and Garet had been best friends. They were always getting into mischief with each other, and they were inseparable, like brothers. So it was natural that when crisis hit, they were there for each other. What was occurring now reminded Garet of the day of the falling rock, when Mt Aleph sprang to life, and took Isaac's dad, along with Felix and his parents, away. At the time, everyone believed them to be dead, and Isaac had been inconsolable for weeks. Garet had stuck it out with his best friend, and in time, the old Isaac resurfaced, with a determination to excel at psynergy, so that next time, he would be strong enough. And so they trained.

And surely enough, when the time came, and the Wise One gave them their mission to stop the lighting of the four elemental lighthouses, Isaac and Garet thought themselves ready. They were, but it was still not enough to prevent the lighthouses from being lit. First Mercury was lit, then Venus. It was only at the summit of the Jupiter lighthouse that they finally caught up with Felix. It was there and in Contigo when Isaac and Garet, along with their companions Ivan and Mia, learnt that in order to save the world, the lighthouses must be lit. Confused and unsure, Isaac and Garet chose to trust the fate of the world to Felix, and they headed to Prox to light the final lighthouse: Mars.

It was there that Isaac once again almost lost his father, and again it was Garet who kept him from losing it. What else was a best friend to do? In the end, Isaac's dad pulled through, and they left Prox and headed home, to Vale.

And now another tragedy had occurred to Isaac, and once again, it was Garet who was there for him; only this time, there seemed no way of bringing him back from the brink of despair. Only this mission kept Isaac from ending it right now, and Garet was keenly aware of this fact.

Garet hurried on, and was quite out of breath by the time he had caught up with Isaac.

"You couldn't have waited a little longer could you?" He asks with a smile.

"I didn't ask for you to come." Isaac's voice was cold and devoid of emotion. "Dullahan is my fight, you needn't have come."

Garet shook his head in disbelief. Needn't have come? Of course he had to come! His best friend was talking about facing a beast it took eight of them to overcome the first time, and he was saying that Garet's strength and mars psynergy were not needed? Lunacy!

"One day, when this all is over, you'll thank me for being here. You mark my words, you will be forever grateful that I decided to come. And besides, it's not as if Jenna wasn't my friend too…" Garet trailed off as he realised he had mentioned the 'j' word. Isaac had visibly tensed, and his hands were in the form of straining fists.

"Dullahan must be stopped." Isaac's voice displayed none of the emotion his body showed.

Garet followed his friend in silence for a while; he knew he had overstepped a line. Jenna had may have been a friend to him, but to Isaac, she had been so much more. Garet agreed with Isaac on the Dullahan issue. He just wished there was a way of stopping him, that didn't involve fighting him. And if they did have to fight him, why Felix, Mia, Sheba, Ivan and Piers couldn't be there to help. The Wise One may have selected Isaac to be the one to find Dullahan, but that didn't mean he couldn't have help. The Wise One picked Isaac, because he knew Isaac would die trying to stop this monster. Indeed, the Wise One knew that, somewhere in Isaac, part of him wanted exactly that. That was why Garet had accompanied his friend, to make sure that didn't happen. Unfortunately that meant leaving his little boy, Tyrell at home. Garet smiled at the thought of his son. Only a few years old, and he was already looking like his dad. He is going to be a great man, he thought. His smile faded as he thought of his son's best friend, Matthew. Coincidently, Matthew was the son of Isaac, something the two friends found very amusing. Matthew had changed a lot since Dullahan's re-emergence. He had retracted into himself, and Tyrell was hard pressed to get anything more than a small, sad smile out of him. Still, it didn't stop him from trying. Like father, like son, Tyrell was never going to abandon his best friend in his time of need. Especially when it seemed like his father had.

Garet knew that wasn't the case, but to a small boy still trying to find his feet, what else would it look like? As soon as Garet had heard that Isaac had left, he had gathered his djinn and rushed after him, but not before promising to Matthew to bring his dad back to safety. Matthew had just looked at him, and given him that small, sad smile. It broke Garet's heart that there was not more he could do for the son of his best friend. Matthew was more like his dad than he knew. Just like his father, he was a Venus adept, and was already showing promise. He was going to be as strong, if not stronger than his dad in mastering the earth psynergy. He also had a habit of containing his pain, drawing in on himself, unwilling to share his burden with his friends. Just like his dad, Matthew acted as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. The exception was that his dad actually did have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Ever since the formation of the Golden Sun, people had looked to Isaac for everything. Every monster that needed slaying, and every house that need rebuilding, Isaac, as leader of the Warriors of Vale, was expected to answer the call. And he had, and the people loved him. But the pressure was taking its toll on the hero, and only one person had been able to alleviate the pressure: Jenna.

Garet glanced over to his best friend again. He wished there was more he could do. Never had he felt so powerless to help his friend. He was about to open his mouth to say something when Isaac lifted his hand sharply, signalling to Garet to stop.

"We're not alone." Isaac's dispassionate voice sounded slightly sinister as he whispered to his friend. Garet glanced around nervously as he drew his mace from the holder on his back. To his left, he saw Isaac draw the legendary Sol blade. Silently they waited, back to back, waiting for the presence to show itself.

When it did, it caught Garet completely by surprise. A sword of pure energy swept forward out of now where and lanced towards his chest. Garet barely had time to register this before he felt a hand roughly push him away. He looked up, slightly dazed and confused to see that the sword had been parried by the Sol blade. It was only then that he realised who was wielding it. Dullahan! The headless beast was back! Garet shivered as recalled the last time they had faced this monster.

It had been in the Anemos Sanctum. The team had heard rumour of the ultimate power being hidden there, but only those who had collect all the djinn could enter and claim it. Unfortunately, the rumour had said nothing about the beast that was guarding it. Dullahan was an almighty foe, and would have destroyed them all, had it not been for the last ditch effort by Isaac. The battle had reached what seemed to be a foregone conclusion. Everyone was down, save for Isaac and Felix, and Felix did not look like he could last much longer. Garet, slipping in and out of consciousness at the time, was awake to see Dullahan strike Felix with and almighty blow from his sword, and watched as Felix fly across the room, striking the wall hard, and not getting up. From somewhere deep within Dullahan's headless body came a deep and foreboding laugh.

"Your seven comrades fought bravely, as have you. But there is no way that this will end well for you."

Isaac had not replied, but just stood there, in front of Dullahan, unyielding and unafraid. Dullahan had laughed again.

"Very well, let's end this."

As Dullahan raised his sword to finish Isaac, the boy had darted forward, using reserves Garet had long thought used up, before striking Dullahan with a blow Garet had never seen before. It looked, to all intents and purposes, and if every one of Isaac's Djinn had been activated at once. In Isaac's Sol blade flowed the power of nine djinn. Dullahan had stumbled back from the blow, a crack appearing on his armour. The crack lengthened, widened and branched until his entire body was cracking. Then, with a beastly wail, Dullahan simply exploded. The blast knocked Isaac from his feet, and the shockwave finally knocked Garet out. He had awoken to find himself in a bed in Contigo. The priests of the Sanctum had heard the explosion and had investigated. The doors had been left open, so they followed the path, and came across eight warriors, barely alive. They brought them back to Contigo, where the healer worked solidly for three days to bring them back from the brink. Isaac had been the last to come round, and Jenna refused to leave his side until he did.

So the scene Garet was viewing was very similar to the one he had seen last time they had faced Dullahan, only this time, there weren't six other adepts to wear the monster down first. Garet got up as Isaac ducked under a wicked slash from Dullahan, before sending one of his own, infused with the power of Flint, clanging against Dullahan chest plate. The headless monster stumbled back, but didn't go down. Instead it raised its arm and unleashed its Djinn Storm. Now all of Isaac's Djinn were reset, and his power and strength were going to limited until they recovered. Quickly setting four of his djinn, Garet summoned Meteor, and watched with satisfaction as it smashed Dullahan into the ground. Taking advantage of their enemy's absence, the two warriors re-grouped, and stood at the edge of the crater, waiting for Dullahan to resurface.

The dark, echoing laugh rose from the crater.

"Is that the best you can muster?" The voice sounded amused. "You're even weaker than I remember." Dullahan drew his sword again, and leapt forwards, with a speed that startled Garet. Desperately parrying Dullahan's blows, Garet was forced back, as Isaac rolled around to avoid getting caught in the attack. Leaping high, Isaac aimed another blow at Dullahan, again infused with Flint's power. The attack from behind caught Dullahan by surprise, and the monster turned to face Isaac. Taking advantage of Dullahan's attention being drawn, Garet struck at his back, infusing his mace with the power of Cannon, before attacking with his Eruption psynergy. Caught off balance, Dullahan stumbled, before being knocked his feet by Isaac's Mother Gaia. Garet's eyes lit up as the thought of victory entered his mind. These thoughts were soon dashed as Dullahan got up, seemingly without a scratch, and raised its hand to the sky.

Charon!

As the summon began to attack, Garet quickly unleashed the power of a second Djinn, Flash. The djinn's power formed a protective shield around both Garet and Isaac, and Charon only dealt minimal damage. As the dust and smoke from the attack cleared, Garet felt himself picked up and thrown across the clearing, striking a tree hard, knocking himself unconscious. His last thought before he fell into darkness was that he was never going to see his son again, and a single tear fell from his cheek before the darkness claimed him.

* * *

Isaac could do nothing but watch as Garet was thrown against a tree, swiftly knocking him out. Dullahan turned to face the Venus Adept, and his deep laugh filled the clearing once more.

"This is familiar." The voice echoed. "Only this time you don't have seven friends willing to sacrifice their lives for you. This time you only have one, and a pitiful one at that. You would have been better off bringing that other Venus adept with you. Then, maybe, I would have found this encounter amusing."

Dullahan brought his sword up, and then down in a murderous swing, that Isaac only just avoided by diving to his left. Rising quickly, he activated the djinn Ground, causing Dullahan to freeze momentarily. With time and space, Isaac unleashed Geode, his most powerful djinn. He hit Dullahan square in the chest, knocking the monster of his feet. With Ground's effect over, Dullahan rose, bringing his sword of energy round to bear on Isaac. The Sol blade blocked the attack, but the force of the blow sent Isaac sprawling, and before he could get up, Dullahan was one him, slash down again. Rolling to the right, Isaac unleashed his psynergy Clay Spire, knocking Dullahan back, and giving him room to rise. Beginning to tire, Isaac released the power of Sap, allowing him to absorb some of Dullahan's strength. Dullahan staggered, but stayed on his feet.

"For one fighting alone, you have fought bravely. I must admit that." Dullahan stilled showed no signs of damage of fatigue. "But now I must end this. True Collide!"

The dawn sky darkened, as Dullahan's true power was revealed.

"You're right. This must end now. Judgement!"

With a great flurry, Isaac released his four ready djinn, and watched as they combined to form the most powerful being Isaac could summon alone. Judgement rose into the sky, before diving down to unleash his awesome power upon the monster that threatened his master.

"No Judgement! Come back! We have to wait for the right moment!"

Confused, the summon hesitated. Hadn't he been brought here to stop Dullahan's attack, and protect his master? Shrugging off his doubts, Judgement turned around, and flew back to his master. If this is what Isaac wanted, Judgement could not refuse. Judgement landed gently besides Isaac, and waited patiently for his master's command. Across the field, it was clear that Dullahan was almost ready.

"Ready yourself, Judgement. The moment is almost upon us." For the first time, Isaac's voice contained the steely determination that made him the warrior who saved all of Weyard. Judgement obediently raised his shield, and aimed the lion's head straight at Dullahan. "When he releases, give it all you've got." Judgement nodded, and kept aiming straight at Dullahan. So focussed on his opponent, he did not realise that Isaac had moved away from his side, and was making his way towards Dullahan. One more thing needed to be done.

"Now you die!" Dullahan let out a roar as he unleashed his True Collide. Without even blinking, Judgement released his attack, a ball of pure Venus energy at Dullahan. As the two powers collided, Isaac leapt out of nowhere with his Sol blade raised high. This was it, the final piece.

"Megiddo!"

* * *

Garet peeled his eyes open slowly, the midday sun hurting his eyes. His whole body ached, and the pain seemed to centre around a dullness emanating from the back of his head.

"Whoa, how long was I out for?" He muttered to himself as he stretched and got up. He looked across the clearing, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping. The place had been torn apart. Trees had been uprooted and flung away, giving the clearing an extra 10 metres in diameter. Of Dullahan there was no sign.

"Is that it? Did we win?" Garet voiced his thoughts. They couldn't have lost, or else he would be dead.

"… Sort of."

Garet spun as a voice spoke from behind him. There was no one there.

"I'm down here, stupid!" The voice was angry now, and Garet looked down to see a fairly irate Venus djinn hopping up and down in front of him.

"Oh, Flint. Sorry, I didn't see you down there." Garet scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he apologised to the djinn.

Flint stopped hopping around, but still looked pretty annoyed at the Mars adept. Without saying anything, he turned and started hopping towards a tree, with a funny dark lump at its base.

"Isaac!"

The cry escaped Garet's lips instinctively as he ran over to his friends resting body. It was only when he got closer that he realised the truth. Isaac was dead. Silent tears began to flow down Garet's face. Isaac, the one person who had stood by Garet through thick and thin, the only one Garet knew he could count on, was dead.

He merged the power of Judgment and Meggido with Dullahan's True Collide attack." Flint said quietly, respecting Garet's sorrow over the loss of his best friend. "Dullahan cracked and exploded just like last time." Still Garet said nothing, his eyes unable to leave the face of his dead best friend. Isaac looked so… peaceful; as if the weight on his shoulders had been lifted. Finally, Garet spoke:

"If anyone could have beaten Dullahan on his own, it would have been Isaac. We always knew he was the best. Even Felix acknowledged it; it was why he let Isaac take the Sol blade. But why? We beat him before… together, and lost no one. Why did he have to do it alone this time?"

Garet broke down again. What was he to tell the others? What was he to tell Matthew? In the midst of his tears, Garet felt a soft nudging on his leg, and he looked down to see Flint at his side again.

"He told me that he wants the scarf to go to his son, Matthew. It's a sort of family heirloom." Garet nodded numbly, and carefully unwrapped the scarf from around his friend's cold neck, and gently, almost reverently, placing in his pack.

"Where are the rest of the djinn?" He asked Flint as he rose to leave the clearing and return home.

"He let them go. He wanted us to be free."

"And why didn't you go?"

"The same reason you accompanied him here. I couldn't let him be alone."

Garet smiled at the djinn's words. It was just like Isaac to inspire such loyalty in those he met and led. It was the little things he did, and the way he always seemed to have everyone's best interests at heart, even when they conflicted with his own. In short, he cared.

"I think now we have to leave him, Flint. He's gone where we can't follow. Yet."

The djinn looked at the ground, forlorn. "So where will I go now? For almost as long as I can remember, I've been with Isaac. We've been through everything together."

"Well, someone's going to have to look after his son…" Garet's eyes welled up again as he thought about the now parentless child that waited back at home.

"Yes, you're right. I'll come with you, and watch over Matthew. Isaac would want that."

Garet smiled and nodded, and together, the adept and the djinn left the clearing. The sun was setting, and the red light of approaching dusk shone on the Sol blade, as vines and plants sprung out of the ground, as the Spirit of Venus reached out to bring her child home.

* * *

It had been a week since Garet had returned home, with a scarf, Venus djinn, and one heck of a story. Matthew was now staying with him and Tyrell, but Garet did not know how he was doing. What he did know was that Tyrell had not let the other boy out of his sight. Nor had Karis. Ivan and his daughter had been waiting at Garet's when he returned. Nothing ever escapes that man, Garet thought ruefully. Ivan knew of what had happened, and knew that Garet would need a friend. Karis had come for Matthew.

Garet and Ivan sat on the porch as they watched the children play in the garden. There wasn't much playing going on, just Tyrell strutting around, and Karis laughing at his silly antics. Matthew sat in silence. The boy had barely spoken since he had moved in with Garet and Tyrell, and both Garet and Ivan were worried for him.

"They remind me of myself, Isaac and Jenna, before the whole Golden Sun incident." Garet said suddenly. Ivan nodded.

"It makes sense, back then the three of you went through a fairly traumatic event, and it brought you closer than ever. History has a funny was of repeating itself." The Jupiter trailed off as he mused over the last few days. He had not intended to bring Karis, but she had asked him where he was going, and as soon as he had said she had insisted on coming with him. It was as if she had known that Matthew was going to need her. Ivan looked to the garden where Tyrell was still cavorting like a maniac, doing everything in his power to bring a smile to the face of his best friend. Nothing so far seemed to work, and the small boy just sat there, his face completely devoid of any emotion. Just to his left sat Karis, whose bright and bubbly face kept alternating between amusement at Tyrell to concern for Matthew. It was then that Ivan noticed Karis' hand slowly creeping across the grass to Matthew's. The boy seemed ignorant to it, and almost jumped out his skin when the two hands touched. He looked down at the joined hands, and then up into Karis' smiling face. For an instant, no more than a blink of an eye, Ivan was sure he had seen Matthew smile.

"You smiled!" Yelled Tyrell, it was clear he had seen it too. "I knew I could do it!" It was also clear that he hadn't realised why. Matthew face flickered into a smile again as he opened his mouth to explain, but before he could say anything, Tyrell starting talking again. "There! I did it again! Am I good or what?" And with that he started strutting around the garden again, a proud look on his face.

Garet and Ivan watched the exchange with smiles. They knew that Matthew would be alright. With friends like Tyrell and Karis, who wouldn't be?

* * *

**Author's Note:** This was originally going to focus on Isaac and his troubles, but as the story progressed, I realised that it was to be Garet's tale, and it was clear within the first few hundred words that Isaac was going to die (as a writer, I mean, not necessarily as a reader). Funny how these things happen, eh? What started off, with all intents and purposes, as a slightly extended battle piece, turned into a story of true friendship, with a little fight added in! Also, pieces of this story irritate me, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It seems a little... blocky at times. But hey, that's just me, please form your own opinions and let me know!


End file.
